Never A Memory

A/N: Hello there.

Sorry for the hiatus, Thanksgiving had me all tied up in a knot, and then I had to trim the Xmas tree and put lights on the house....

To make up for the lapse between updates, I have three new ones for you.

Aw, yeah. Three.

This next one I re-wrote three times and even considered scraping it. However, I really felt that Cure needed a re-introduction becuase he is somewhat different than when he played Micheal Deans, the Social Worker. I wanted to give Cure the proper core characteristics that I had always had in mind for him, but without shocking readers into thinking he's a completely different person. I also wanted to make him relatively likable.

The next chapter, Ghosts of Hochberg, needs a little editing, but I should have it out within a few minutes; Me, Myself, and I will follow shortly after that.

Enjoy.




~Shackled to a Death Eater~

Madison, Wisconsin...
***

Joe Byrne wasn’t as easily convinced as Drew Williams thought he would be. He wouldn’t even allow Blaise Zabini inside his house and forced the Englishman to wait outside until they had finished discussing the new events.

Joe pointed out that this Wizard was the reason Draco Malfoy had become a case for the Ministry of Magic in the first place and, by rights, they should detain him to strengthen diplomatic relations with the Ministry. Williams argued that Blaise’s confession was given in confidence to help them believe his integrity and Byrne argued further that said confession only caused him to mistrust Zabini even more. If the confession was given to them only to aid in their handing over Cure, then what solace did they have in whether or not Blaise would ever be brought to justice for his crimes? Especially after giving Cure to Blaise without the MLED’s permission would most assuredly result in their suspension from the force.

Finally, after much debate, Williams had his partner’s consent to give over Cure and went outside—where a forceful breeze had kicked up--to inform Blaise. Annoyed, but hale, the windswept Pureblood nodded and followed Williams back to the Muggle Affairs Head Quarters. Williams took the Englishman down one corridor after the next, each seeming as endless as the one prior, until they arrived at the Cell Block. Williams undid the charms warding the Cell from unauthorized outsiders and entered, Blaise following closely behind.

Maximus Cure, handsome and disheveled, lounged lazily on his cot, not bothering to rise and greet his visitors. “Wherefore art thou here, Auror?” Cure inquired in a dreamy voice.

Zabini glanced at Williams, who rolled his eyes.

“Get up, Cure, you useless lump of shit,” Williams commanded in a surly voice. Blaise recognized that tone, the Auror had used it on him only this afternoon. Blaise smiled a little to himself. “You are going to England.”

That got Cure’s attention. “England, you say?” Cure said, sitting up and eyeing Blaise Zabini. “And who’s this?”

“This is Blaise Za—“

Blaise cut off the Auror with a jerky flick of his fingers. “Blaise, only.”

Cure smiled. “How do you do, Blaise Only?”

Blaise regarded the punished Wizard thoughtfully before retrieving his wand. “Guillomassus,” Blaise murmured, casting an invisible spell.

Williams raised his brows at the young Death Eater. ‘Guillomassus’ was a spell only Witches and Wizards under the direct protection and enforceability of Wizarding government leaders could cast. It shackled the wrists and ankles of a person to his or herself, forbidding any attempt of escape and diluting any hope to use magic in the Caster’s presence. Cure was now connected to Blaise Zabini permanently by a maximum of ten feet in any direction until Blaise decided to lift the spell. Perhaps the young Death Eater was telling the truth after all.

Cure knew what it meant and his face fell when he tried to pull his wrists back, the magical shackles burning into his skin and spiking violently around his hands and feet. “Ahh, crap.”

~*~

"Make sure he tells you everything you need to know about the Inversion Enchantratem before you leave the city," Williams said as he handed Maximus Cure's file over to Blaise Zabini. Cure, who trailed behind them silently, moved his head to one side to hide his grin. "I would hate for you to travel all the way back to England just to have left some vital ingredient back here in Wisconsin," Williams continued. "It would be something he would find funny."

"Duly noted," Blaise replied, making the file disappear with a graceful turn of his fingers. Blaise glanced over his shoulder at the olive-skinned, hazel eyed young man that was connected to him by the Guillomassus. Cure met his gaze unflinching, the mirth in his hazel eyes unmistakable. Blaise turned back to Williams, their quick steps taking them swiftly towards the edge of the magical city inside Madison, Wisconsin, where the Auror had insisted on escorting them to.

Williams glanced over his shoulder at Cure as well, and then met Blaise's gaze. "I also feel I should warn you: we don't know much about Cure save from the events leading up to his expulsion from Sequoia's School for American Witchcraft and Wizardry and his confession concerning poisoning Malfoy with the Inversion Enchantratem. He's claimed he was hired by the Gatherer, but wouldn't give us a definitive answer on whether or not he was supposed to assassinate him as well. He could be very dangerous, even if he seems harmless."

Blaise made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat. "Or, he could be harmless, even if he seems dangerous."

"Even so," Williams said, coming to a halt in front of a brick wall and tapping random bricks with his wand. "We know for certain he's a genius...and also quite clever. Be careful."

"I will, Detective," Blaise murmured as the brick wall pulled back and allowed a Muggle alley to come into view, a grateful smile gracing his lips. "I am indebted to you. Thank you."

Williams shrugged. "It was nothing."

"Nonsense. The MLED might suspend you."

"Naw. There's no 'might'. They'll suspend me for sure." Williams offered an easy smile. "Don't worry about me. I just hope my part in this tale is over."

"Likewise," Blaise replied, holding out his hand. "Tell Martha I send my undying gratitude."

"If we're ever in London, I'll look you up," Drew Williams answered, shaking the former Death Eater's hand firmly.

Blaise snorted. "I'm not THAT indebted to you, Detective. I do have a reputation to uphold."

Williams grinned. "Sure you do."

Behind them, Cure watched the exchange with a smile that was decidedly wry, but with eyes that were also thoughtful.

~*~

"So where is this vile?"

Blaise stood in the doorway of Cure's studio apartment on Waldemere Way where Cure had claimed a vile of the nearly complete Inversion Enchantratem was hidden.

Cure went over to a book shelf and selected a thick hard cover from the shelf. He opened it and retrieved a small vile from its shallow pages. Cure tossed the vile to Blaise who made the small bottle disappear with a twirl of his fingers. Cure watched Blaise's hands as they relaxed at the Death Eater's sides, realizing, suddenly, that this Wizard had the capability to use wandless magic.

"One would think the MLED would have searched this place," Blaise mused as he gazed around the small, sparse apartment.

"They did," Cure replied as he took off the clothes that had been given him in the Cell Block and changing into faded jeans and a casual button-down.

"Then how did they miss that?" Blaise asked, pointing to the hard cover book that had a thick, hollow square cut into its pages.

"Because they are stupid," Cure said, pulling a hooded sweater over his head.

Blaise chuckled. "Are you ready?"

Cure peered at Blaise as he finished tying the laces on his sneakers. "You seem like a different person when you smile, Blaise Only."

Blaise frowned. "Let's go," he said shortly, turning into the hall and beginning the descent down the stairs.

Cure had barely enough time to stand before the Guillomassus jerked on his hand and feet, burning his flesh painfully, and forcing him to follow.

~*~

The return trip to New York on the Greyhound was an interesting and quiet affair.

Maximus Cure soon discovered that his Death Eater captor was a rabid cigarette smoker, which gave him something to ponder. Muggles make fortunes out of the tobacco industry and the Wizarding Community usually stuck to pipe weed. A Pureblood smoking a Muggle product AND seeming well-versed in Muggle means of transportation was...

Odd.

And a former Death Eater, no less.

Very odd.

Especially when everything the Muggles around them said or did seemed to disgust this Blaise Only.

"Why does the Ministry send a Death Eater to acquire means to the Inversion Enchantratem?" Cure had once asked, breaking the usual silence between them on their journey to New York.

"What makes you think that the Ministry sent me?" Blaise replied without looking away from the window he was gazing out of.

Cure gave him an incredulous look, as if the question was the dumbest thing he had ever heard, and held up his wrists.

Blaise glanced at him once before looking back out of he window. "Because I can."

"What does the Ministry need it for?"

"You do not need to know that."

Cure stared at the former Death Eater for a moment longer before returning to his musings.

~*~

Blaise watched Cure through the pluming spiral of smoke his cigarette was exuding as they waited for Simon Heil at the harbor in New York City. They had arrived a few hours ahead of schedule and were forced to wait until the pre-arranged meeting time. Blaise certainly hoped Simon wouldn't be late. New York was beginning to turn chilly this time of year.

Cure stood some few feet away from the Pureblood, staring out over the water and watching the sun sink into the horizon. Blaise noticed that the young criminal seemed to observe random things and gaze at it for minutes at a time with a child's fascination.

Blaise had decided it would be better to maintain a certain amount of psychological distance between himself and this man, thinking it would be better than to give Cure a window to get under his skin. Blaise had a temper, and if antagonized, would cause the former Death Eater to act rashly.

However, Blaise had become intrigued by Cure's aptitude for silence and the easy, casual grace with which he conducted himself. And while a flying ladybug, or a crawling ant, or a setting sun could fascinate Maximus Cure, anything Blaise did seemed to elicit a blaze of humor in Cure's hazel eyes, as if his mere presence amused him to no end. Blaise wondered if it was a contemptuous humor or if Cure knew something he didn't and Cure thought it was funny. But then, Blaise thought it might be something else.

Certainly, though, Maximus Cure did not strike one as a dangerous assassin.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Blaise asked suddenly, taking a drag off of his smoke. "Other than Michael Deans?"

"Have you?" Cure replied, turning to look at the Pureblood with laughing, hazel eyes.

Blaise didn't answer as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs. Cure turned back to gaze at the firey sun.

"Do you grieve for the life you take?" Blaise asked, his voice becoming softer and less pretentious.

"Every day." Cure continued to look out over the water. "Do you?"

Blaise tossed his fag onto the ground and crushed it with his boot. "Yes."

Cure wrapped his arms around himself. "John Smith wasn't his name, was it?"

"No."

"What is it?"

Blaise hesitated, wondering if he should say. "Draco Malfoy."

Cure was quiet for a moment. "Malfoy," he said slowly, rolling the syllables around in his mouth. "Bad faith. Suits him, the poor bastard."

"You have no idea."

Cure did turn around then, the orange and magenta of the changing sky silhouetting Cure and casting his features into shadow. "You're right; I probably don't."

Blaise met his eyes and was surprised to find no humor in the usually laughing hazel gaze.

"I would not have killed him," Cure said quietly.

Blaise nodded, believing him for some reason.

Cure turned back to the sunset.

"I had wondered what he was like in St. Mary's," Blaise said at random, lighting another cigarette.

Cure laughed. It was a clear free sound. "Pranced around like he owned the place. Had everyone worked up in a knot over him."

Blaise smiled. Sounded like the Draco he knew.

"He hit on me, you know," Cure said, glancing over his shoulder. "I think he liked seeing people uncomfortable because of him."

Blaise's grin grew wider. "He does. He's best at cornering that which is most vulnerable in a person."

"Like a child who jabs at a red button reading 'DON'T TOUCH' until it no longer works," Cure mused aloud.

"Indeed."

Cure was silent for many minutes before he spoke again. "The Inversion Enchantratem is for Draco Malfoy, isn't it? What is inside him that the Ministry wants out? It must be terrible, to frighten Detectives Williams and Byrne into giving me into a Death Eater's care."

Blaise blinked. How on Earth did he figure that out? "Cure..."

"Don't deny it, Blaise Only," Cure said, tiring of watching the sun set and coming over to sit by Blaise. "It was a simple matter of deducing facts from what I already knew. And being the biggest hint myself, it was fairly easy."

Blaise regarded his so-called 'prisoner' and watched the young man's lips curve into a smile. The man positively shone when he smiled.

As clever as he is intelligent. Williams had said as much.

"You never meant to kill Michael Deans, did you?"

Cure's smile vanished and his eyes hardened. "Michael was my closest friend. No one grieved him more than I did."

"Then why did you continue to experiment with the Inversion Enchantratem?"

Cure's gaze turned mournful. "It was Michael's obsession, to find out how to create the Inversion Enchantratem. I felt that quitting our research would have been an insult to his memory." Cure looked at Blaise. "I'm just glad I might be able to do something good with the potion before I'm locked up forever. Michael never wanted to harm anyone with it."

"Then why did you accept the job to use it on Draco?"

Cure looked away. "Man's gotta pay rent."

Finally, Blaise caught a glimpse of the renegade Cure was rumored to be. Cure seemed rigid, his casual grace slipping, his gaze hard and mutinous, the laughing hazel being replaced by a dark green, and his fists were clenched. Blaise realized that Cure didn't like what he had become, but Wizards were never meant to live as Muggles. Maximus Cure had been blamed for the death of his best friend during a potions accident. He had been expelled, his wand broken, and forbidden to do magic. He had been exiled. And Maximus Cure was bitter for it. Blaise understood this more than most...except, perhaps, Draco himself, who would understand better than all of them.

He wondered what else he had in common with Maximus Cure.

But before his thoughts could take him into another dimension of musing, Simon Heil made his appearance. Quiet, steady, slightly swaying, and right on time.

Cure instantly transformed back into the silent, laughing-eyed, casual graced criminal that Blaise had traveled with these past two days and he couldn't help but wonder which side of him was most true.

Simon and Blaise made short work of finalizing their venture as Cure stood idly by, distractedly rubbing at the burns on his wrists. At one point, Simon glanced up at Cure and asked Blaise a question. Blaise responded immediately, seeming confident, and Simon nodded.

They shook hands. The deal was complete.

They would set sail in the morning.

~*~


thrnbrooke: Good priests are hard to come by these days, lol. Thank you for your review!



Leentje: I've always liked Ron. I didn't think that Harry having an affair with Draco would go over well, but I also think that this would be just another thing for Ron to laugh about later. He's the best friend anyone could have, in my opinion. Thanx for your review!



Mangacat: LOL, most of the maps I was looking at were in German so I struggled a bit with the geography. After deciding on the castle, I just kept hitting links. Which I guess was pretty dumb considering how many maps of Germany there are out there that are in English. In Wikipedia, the river was spelled both ways on two different sites, lol. 'Course I had to pick the wrong one. I'm glad I guessed aright with the location of the castle. I had them travelling east to collect the priest in Bavaria and then.
going west towards the Black Forest. I tried to be as ambiguous as possible because I was pretty sure I was screwing *something* up. Ha ha, in either case, I couldn't have even made it believable without you. Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the updates!



Paige Taylor: Thank you! I loved The Loft. Was it ever finished? I'd love to see how it ends. What a great compliment. I hope you enjoyed the updates!



Lilith: Yeah....I was kinda inspired by Bad Boys II. *looks sheepish* I never wanted to use it, but it kept playing in my head like a broken record! Ha ha! Thank you very much for your review!



gauge: Thank you! I like to reveal a little bit at a time with Maul. He's a fun dynamic to play with. Bad dude. My favorite times of writing him is when he's talking to Draco in his head. Thanx for such a great review! I hope you enjoy the updates!